A major problem in cities is the inability of an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance, police vehicle, fire truck etc to quickly get to an accident scene or to a hospital etc safely. One problem comes about because other vehicles on the road do not notice the emergency vehicle and therefore do not get out of the way. For this reason, emergency vehicles are provided with a loud siren. This should allow a driver in a vehicle to hear the emergency vehicle even if the emergency vehicle cannot be immediately seen. Often, the person in a vehicle does not hear the siren and therefore is not aware of the emergency vehicle proximity. This can be caused by good soundproofing in the vehicle, air-conditioning (which means that the vehicle windows are closed) or the radio being on in the vehicle.
Another problem which can occur anywhere on a roadway is a partially concealed risk area which is not seen by the driver of the vehicle until too late. These risk areas may include railway crossings, one-way bridges, road works, a bridge closed, an accident on the road and the like.
There may have been some attempts to notify the driver of a vehicle of the proximity of an ambulance or something else. However, these attempts may not have been particularly successful for various reasons including complexity and cost of the apparatus, difficulty in installation, effectiveness, potential distraction to motorists, perceived acceptance by consumers, interference with public and the like.
There would be an advantage if it were possible to provide some form of unit or apparatus that could provide an alarm or some other type of warning to a person in the vehicle if the vehicle is in close proximity to an ambulance, or a hazard situation and the like. There would be an advantage if this could be done in a relatively inexpensive manner and particularly by using some of the componentry of an existing vehicle radio, also enabling explicit information to be broadcast.
By doing so, this can obviate or reduce the need to have various components fitted to the vehicle such as a separate speaker, battery, or receiving circuitry and the like. These components might be unsightly if retrofitted to a vehicle and therefore consumer acceptance might be reduced.
A disadvantage with existing devices is that the warning sound may not be heard above the sound system. Therefore there would be an advantage if it were possible to mute or interrupt, the music etc on the radio/sound system when the signal is received and replace it with a warning sound.
Another potential disadvantage with possible existing devices is that if the device intercepts an emergency signal and activates a warning in the driver vehicle, the warning (e.g. alarm) might be activated for as long as the device picks up the emergency signal and this can be for a long period of time which can be quite annoying to the driver in the vehicle. However, it is not considered a good solution to have some form of timer to automatically switch off the alarm as the alarm may be switched off before the driver recognises the alarm and takes precautions. It should be appreciated that different drivers will have different reflex times to recognise the alarm and to take precautions.
Another advantage with integrating with existing componentry is that it is relatively simple & therefore inexpensive to automatically mute the existing vehicles sound system, therefore ensuring that the driver not only receives a clear uninterrupted warning, but is able to apply full concentration to the potential hazard rather than turning down volume of radios, activating acknowledge switches, looking at screens & etc.
There may be an advantage if it were possible to provide some form of unit or apparatus that could also have some form of feedback mechanism to make sure that the vehicle driver has acknowledged the alarm. To explain, there might be circumstances where even if the alarm activates, the driver of the vehicle does not recognise the alarm and therefore does not take extra precautions.
It is envisaged that this unit could become an integral part of a vehicle sound system.
While some form of warning of the type above would be particularly suitable for the driver of a road vehicle, it is envisaged that there may be circumstances where something similar would be suitable for a water vessel or some other form of transport means.
It is considered that the present invention would find particular suitability for all types of road vehicles that are fitted with a radio and these may include cars, trucks, utility vehicles, lorries, vans, semi trailers, some types of agricultural machinery such as tractors, haul out vehicles, buses, motorcycles (it being appreciated that many motorcycles are fitted with radios), taxis, and the like.
It is also considered that the present invention could comprise a radio which is portable and which is adapted to accommodate the apparatus of the present invention thereby enabling a vehicle which is not otherwise fitted with a radio to be used. This may include bicycles, some types of road using machinery that is usually not fitted with a radio, and the like.
It is also envisaged that the apparatus could become standard equipment for all types of vehicles.
The term “alarm” (if present in the invention) is meant to include a visual alarm such as a flashing light, an audible alarm and the like.
It will be clearly understood that, if a prior art publication is referred to herein; this reference does not constitute an admission that the publication forms part of the common general knowledge in the art in Australia or in any other country.